A simulation study on a solar heat pump heating system with seasonal latent heat storage

Solar heating systems with seasonal energy storage have attracted an increasing attention over the past decades. However, studies of such systems using a phase change material (PCM) as seasonal storage medium have not been found in the open literature. In this paper a solar heat pump heating system with seasonal latent heat thermal storage (SHPH–SLHTS) is firstly described. This is followed by reporting the development of a simplified mathematical model for a SHPH–SLHTS system. Using the model developed, the operational performances of a SHPH–SLHTS system which provided space heating to a villa building have been investigated by simulation, and simulation results are reported in this paper. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved